The Journey is the Reward

How Do I?

My climbing partner has done it again…he has *abandoned* me again for 6 weeks while he’s off to somewhere exciting to do math. He did this to me last year, too. Last year I survived by not climbing or (cringe) bouldering (cringe). Not this year, not this stinking year. It’s the eve of climbing Friday and I wonder how I’ve done this before. How do I take my life, tie it to a rope, and hand that rope to someone new and untried.

It starts with trust. You. Must. Trust.

So it does, Self, so it does.

First, I trust myself. I trust my ability and my judgement.

Next, I trust my partner. A little at a time; first where I know I can succeed then where I think I can succeed.

Finally, I trust even where I am sure I will fail and hope and pray my trust in me and my trust in him is enough to see me through.

Leading at the Gunks

I’ve done it again…I’ve decided it’s time to put myself out there, see what the world has to offer me, and soothe my lonely heart. It’s the eve of a new date with a new stranger and I wonder how I’ve done this before. How do I take my heart, put it on my sleeve, and share it with someone new and untried.

It starts with trust. You. Must. Trust.

So it does, Self, so it does.

First, I trust myself.

Next, I trust my partner.

Finally, I hope and pray my trust in me and my trust in him is enough to see us through.

I guess I understand to the extent that if you have a shady feeling, then you should rely on that instinct…but otherwise, I will only know that this person is good or bad for me, and the trust needs to develop over time. I could meet my soulmate today but I wouldn’t trust him until time and circumstance made us worthy of one another’s trust.

The word “partner”, too, doesn’t mean anyole man. It means a person who starts as a stranger but makes his way to being someone worthy of my trust. Once he becomes that, then I hope my trust in him is not misplaced. Hope and trust.